Maoist link cuffs on Swiss

Thiruvananthapuram, July 29: Kerala police have arrested a foreigner carrying a temporary Swiss passport after he allegedly attended an event held in the memory of a Maoist leader.

Jonadhan Valentine Fernando Claude, 24, was picked up yesterday from Valappad in Thrissur where he is accused of attending the clandestine event in memory of Sinoj alias Rameshan, the Maoist leader who died allegedly handling explosives on the Andhra-Karnataka border last month.

“Not only did Jonadhan attend, he also addressed the group,’’ Thrissur (rural) superintendent of police N. Vijayakumar said. “He was on a tourist visa and has prima-facie flouted the visa conditions,” the officer said. Jonadhan has been booked under the Foreigners Act.

Vijayakumar said Jonadhan had also attended an event organised by the Left in Kozhikode where there was a discussion on the Gaza situation “I’m told that a Malayalam newspaper carried an interview of him after the Kozhikode function,’’ the officer added.

A cloud also hangs on Jonadhan’s nationality. Jonadhan speaks French but carries a temporary Swiss passport. “It seems he introduced himself as Mathew, a French citizen in the interview,’’ the SP said.